When Worlds Collide
by Lost Idea Alchemist
Summary: A mistake with Mavis Vermilion's Fairy Sphere caused the entire Tenrou group to be sent to a different world. While Harry Potter might not have expected to learn he was a wizard, he certainly didn't expect a girl who still looked like a student to be his Head of House and one of his teachers.
1. The New World

Hey all! This is my first ever Fairy Tail / Harry Potter crossover! To be more precise, it's a crossover of Harry Potter and the AU Fairy Tail I created in 'The S-Class Mage'. I hope you enjoy it!

NOTE: Despite Lucy's major role in the first few chapters, Wendy and Meledy are the major Fairy Tail characters in this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Fairy Tail.

* * *

A serene figure watched a group of mages attack a large black dragon. Giving them a sad smile, she clasped her hands together as if in prayer and focused.

Magic power began to swirl around her as the guild mages joined hands in a circle and Acnologia sent its' breath attack down on them. Right before it connected, she flung her arms out and everything went white.

Acnologia took one last look at the place where the island once stood and gave a victorious roar, before flying away.

"Shit!" Mavis Vermilion swore uncharacteristically. "The Fairy Sphere didn't work right!"

"But then..." She frowned and scanned the area in confusion. "If they're not here... then where are they?"

* * *

Dumbledore shot up from his desk in surprise when a large group of people fell out of thin air to his office floor.

"What the hell?" One of them, a teenage blond girl, jumped up and looked around in disbelief. "We're alive?"

"Woohoo!" A rose-haired boy cheered. "We survived!"

"Perhaps you could explain." Dumbledore suggested, drawing their attention to himself. "Who are you and how did you find your way here?"

"Well..." The blond one, who Dumbledore supposed was their leader, scratched her cheek hesitantly.

* * *

"I see." Dumbledore finally sat down and folded his fingers together. "The combined energy of the dragon's attack and the protective magic of that island you spoke of must have created a rip in the wall between dimensions. Truly an unprecedented phenomenon." He glanced at Happy, Charle, and Pantherlily. "Those... Exceed, I believe you called them... they are creatures unheard of in this world. That certainly lends some credence to your tale."

"Yeah..." Lucy sighed. "I guess we'll be leaving now. We have to find a way to send us back."

"Why not use the library we have here?" Dumbledore suggested. "This is a school of magic, after all. There might be something useful in there."

Makarov eyed him doubtfully."I sense a catch here. What are you up to?"

"Too true, Mr Makarov." Albus chuckled. "However, I do not request much. In exchange for allowing you to stay in the castle and use the library, I would like some of you to teach a class on alternate magic. In addition, Miss Heartfilia..." He turned to Lucy. "I realize I'm putting a lot of trust in you after we only just met, but it has been my intention to separate the positions of Deputy Head and Head of Gryffindor House."

"The Head of what?" Lucy frowned in confusion.

"One of the four houses of Hogwarts." Dumbledore clarified. "In any case, I would like to ask you to be the new head of Gryffindor House. I think Minerva, the previous Head, is beginning to crack under the workload and I believe that as Guild Master, you can manage being in a position of leadership."

"I see." Lucy bowed to the Headmaster, who bowed back, recognizing the custom as similar to one of the Japanese. "I'll try not to disappoint you."

"Now then..." Albus glanced at Wendy and Meledy. "I would also propose that young Miss Marvell and Miss... um I'm sorry. I didn't catch your last name."

Meledy hesitated.

"She's Meledy Scarlet." Lucy told Dumbledore. Meledy glanced at her in shock and elation.

"I see." Dumbledore nodded. "I propose that Miss Marvell and Miss Scarlet join the first-years as new students of Hogwarts when the term starts in one month. I am willing to lend you enough money to acquire school supplies and wands before the year starts and you can pay me back."

"Of course." Lucy nodded. "Much appreciated... Headmaster."

"That aside..." Dumbledore's eyes began to twinkle. "I do have something you could help me with. I originally planned to ask my groundskeeper, but you seem more organized. Don't worry, it's an easy job. You can make some of your necessary purchases while you're at it."

"Very well." Lucy agreed. "What's the job?"

* * *

_One minute to go, and I'll be eleven._ A scrawny glasses-wearing boy called Harry Potter observed dully. _Thirty... twenty...ten... nine... maybe I'll wake Dudley up. That'll annoy him... three... two... one..._

The door of the sea-enclosed shack rattled loudly as someone from outside kicked it.

"Oi!" An angry female voice shouted. "Open up in there!"

A second loud crashing noise woke up the large boy known as Dudley. "Where's the cannon?" The disoriented boy mumbled, looking around slowly.

A crash echoed behind them and Harry's uncle Vernon ran into the room, holding a long rifle and pointing it at the door fearfully.

"Who's there?" He bellowed. "I'm warning you! I'm armed!"

There was a short pause, then the door frame lit up with an eerie violet glow and the door disintegrated into nothing before the stunned family's eyes. The shocked group watched as a robe-clad teenage blond girl walked in. Casting an annoyed glance at the howling sea outside, the intruder waved a short gleaming object at it and a mermaid-like woman appeared in the water, calming it down instantly before disappearing again.

"I don't suppose you could make me some coffee, could you?" The girl asked Vernon, seemingly unconcerned with his gun. "It's been a pain getting here." She strode over to the sofa and Dudley scooted away, terrified.

"Right..." The girl blinked, reaching into her robes and taking out a sealed letter, scanning it before looking around the room. "So which one of you is Harry Potter?"

"M-me..." Harry stammered from his makeshift bed on the floor.

"Huh." The girl raised an eyebrow. "That fits with what Dumbledore said."

Vernon gave a weird rasp. "I demand you leave at once!" He commanded. "You are breaking and entering!"

The blond sent him a bored look. "Shut up." She grunted, waving an arm and causing a column of violet light to disintegrate most of his rifle. Harry's eyes widened as he understood what happened to the door.

"Anyway..." She turned to Harry. "I was told it's your birthday, so happy birthday, I guess. I don't have a gift for you but if you insist, I'll get you one later today."

"Um..." Harry looked puzzled and slightly afraid. "Who are you?"

"Right, manners." The girl slapped her forehead. "I'm Lucy Heartfilia. Alternate Magic teacher and newly appointed Head of Gryffindor House of Hogwarts." She held out a hand and Harry shook it tentatively.

"Well?" She barked, slumping back on the sofa and glaring at the Dursleys. "Where's that coffee I asked for?"

Sighing as she noticed them incapable of moving, she muttered something that sounded like 'never mind' and set her legs up on a low table.

"Um..." Harry started. "I still don't really know who you are, Miss Heartfilia."

"Lucy will do." The blond waved a dismissive hand. "At least until the school starts, then apparently you're to call me Professor. And I told you, I'm a teacher at Hogwarts." She narrowed her eyes. "You don't know what Hogwarts is, do you?"

"Not really..." Harry mumbled. "Sorry."

Lucy ran a hand through her hair in exasperation. "This is why I love Fiore, no hiding magic from civilians there."

She sighed and leaned forward. "Listen up, Potter... Harry. Since your family decided to keep you in the dark, it falls to me to explain. Hogwarts is a school of magic, the same one where your parents learned it." She frowned. "I'm so glad Dumbledore explained your family history. I still feel out of my depth here."

She turned to Vernon and glared at him angrily. "I was told you received a letter that was meant to be given to Harry later on. This is my first time doing this, you fat idiot, and you're making it definitely more difficult than I think it should be!"

She turned back to Harry and sighed again, noticing that she seemed to do so a lot. "Anyway, Harry, you're what's commonly known as a wizard. I was told your parents were fairly skilled, and that you have a high chance of being powerful as well." She reached into her robe. "Anyway, here you go. Your Hogwarts acceptance letter."

Harry took the letter from her eagerly and opened it, scanning it carefully. Eventually he looked up. "What does it mean, they await my owl?"

Lucy started. "Right." She muttered, before giving off a shrill whistle. A large owl swopped into the room and held out its leg.

"Owl post..." Lucy shook her head in amusement, writing a brief note and tying it to the outstretched leg. The owl hooted and took off, flying out again.

"Ok, I sent confirmation that you got your letter." She told Harry. "Now, any other questions?"

"He's not going." Vernon cut in, regaining some nerve.

"I'm told people like you who can't use magic are called Muggles." Lucy gave a dismissive scoff. "I hardly think that decision falls to you."

"We swore when we took him in that we'd put a stop to that dangerous nonsense." Vernon growled. "That we'd stamp it out of him! Wizard, indeed!"

"You knew?" Harry gasped. "You knew I'm a wizard?"

"Of course we knew!" Petunia screeched, causing Lucy to flinch at the volume. "How could you not be, my damn sister being what she was? She got a letter just like that and disappeared off to... to that place, and came home every summer turning teacups into rats! I was the only who saw her for what she was – a freak! But my parents, no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!"

She took a deep breath and launched into her tirade again.

"Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and I knew you'd be just as weird, as abnormal as they were, and then they went and got themselves blown up and we got stuck with you!"

"You told me they died in a car crash!" Harry protested.

"No, nothing of the sort." Lucy gave yet another resigned sigh. "I was briefed on your history earlier, so I can explain most of it. It starts with this wizard who went dark, like mass murdered dark and everything. He called himself Voldemort." She snorted. "Stupid name if you ask me. Anyway, he was taking over this country and those who stood in his way were all killed. One of the only safe places was Hogwarts. Supposedly Dumbledore was the only person Volde-idiot was afraid of. Anyway, your parents – strong magic users from what I've heard – were pretty close to Dumbledore, so he never tried to recruit them. I guess he wanted them out of his way, though, because he showed up at their place ten years ago and had them killed." She eyed him with a mixture of sadness and nonchalance. "I didn't know them at all, so sorry if I sound uncaring about that. What's really confusing, however, is that he tried to kill you as well, but the curse shot back at him for some reason. The only thing you have as proof of that encounter is that scar." She pointed to the lightning-bolt scar on his forehead. "After that, the current groundskeeper of Hogwarts retrieved you from the ruins of the house and took you to those biased morons you call family."

"Load of old tosh." Vernon snarled. "Now listen here, boy. I'll admit there is something weird about you, probably nothing a good beating couldn't have cured... and as for your parents, they were weirdos, no denying it, and the world's better off without them if you ask me. Always knew they'd come to a sticky end-"

Lucy pushed herself up from the sofa, her finger glowing violet. "Watch it." She warned curtly.

Harry chose to ignore the exchange. "So what happened to Voldemort?"

"Good question." Lucy shrugged. "I have no idea. Dumbledore maintains he's still out there, but powerless to do anything. Something about that night must have really messed him up."

Harry frowned as doubt began to creep in. "Lucy, um... I don't think I can be a wizard."

"I'm told children often show instances of accidental magic." She observed, confused. "Hasn't anything unusual ever happened around you?"

Harry pondered that for a moment, recalling various moments from his childhood and the recent trip to the zoo, and looked at Lucy with a smile. She gave a sigh of relief and smiled back. "You see? I have a feeling you'll fit in great at Hogwarts."

"He's not going." Vernon regained his power of speech. "He's going to go to Stonewall High and be grateful for it. I've read those letters and they say he needs all sorts of rubbish... spell books and wands and-"

Lucy cut him off. "I really doubt you have any say in the matter. He's going to go to Hogwarts as his parents wished, spend time with other young wizards and witches and study under Albus Dumbledore, an experienced Headmaster-"

"I am not paying for some crackpot old fool to teach him magic tricks!" Vernon roared defiantly.

"See, now I'm annoyed." Lucy scowled. "I've known the man for less than a day and he's already done more for me and my friends than most others I know, and that includes my birth father. You'll understand if I don't let your insult go unpunished." Her finger lit up again. "The 28th Seal, Pinpoint Laser version." She intoned, causing a thin beam of violet light to shoot from her fingertip and slice through the wooden ceiling, allowing several loose planks to fall down on Dudley in a heap.

"Come on, Harry." Lucy snapped, sending one last glare at the Dursleys as they struggled to pull Dudley out of the wreckage. "Let's go."

* * *

AN: Sorry if that was kinda rushed. I cut out Lucy's explanation to Dumbledore because everyone who reads this should know what happened on Tenrou Island. Also, McGonagall is still the Transfiguration teacher. She's just not the head of Gryffindor house anymore.

Next chapter will be out in about a week.

Thanks for reading!


	2. The Joys of Shopping

Hey all! This is my first ever Fairy Tail / Harry Potter crossover! To be more precise, it's a crossover of Harry Potter and the AU Fairy Tail I created in 'The S-Class Mage'. I hope you enjoy it!

A reviewer made a very good point when he told me that not everyone has read 'The S-Class Mage' before this story. Therefore, I am putting in a list of the major differences between TSCM and canon Fairy Tail:

1. Lucy is not a weak damsel-in-distress mage. She's much more like canon Lucy Ashley from Edolas.

2. Since she's much stronger than canon Lucy and she's a successful S-Class mage, Makarov considered her a good candidate for his successor and named her Fourth Master after the Fantasia festival.

3. Ultear and Meledy joined Fairy Tail. Ultear still left Tenrou Island before Acnologia's attack, but Meledy stayed with the others and ended up getting transported to Hogwarts along with them.

4. Lucy knows two types of magic: Celestial Summoning (same spirits as in canon + a more developed Caelum), and two of the Seals of Amaterasu, which serve as her back-up Caster magic. She frequently experiments with the 28th Amaterasu Seal, having created several different versions of it by now.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Fairy Tail.

* * *

Harry sat and rubbed his eyes. "It was all a dream." He told himself firmly. "I dreamed that a girl named Lucy came and told me I was a wizard."

"Finally awake, I see." An amused female voice commented.

Harry's eyes widened. "Lucy! I, um..." He looked around the unfamiliar room. "Where are we?"

"The Leaky Cauldron." Lucy explained. "A wizard bar and the entrance to Diagon Alley, a street made of shops stocking magical goods."

"Oh." Harry's face fell. "But I don't have any money, and the Dursleys won't pay..."

"Your parents had a bank vault at Gringotts, the wizard bank." Lucy told him. "We're going there first to get enough money for your supplies. Now come on, I'm meeting a friend there and we're almost late."

"Hey." The barman waved to them when he noticed them come down. "Had a good night, Miss Heartfilia, Mr Potter?"

The room froze, before chairs scraped across the floor and everyone in the bar lined up in front of Harry enthusiastically, clamoring to shake his hand.

"Doris Crockford, Mr Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last."

"So proud, Mr Potter, so proud..."

"Always wanted to shake your hand, Mr Potter."

A pale man pushed his way forward nervously, with a twitching eye and one hand holding his turban steady.

"Professor Quirrell." Lucy nodded. "Harry, this man will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."

"P-P-Potter." Quirrell stammered, shaking Harry's hand. "C-can't tell you p-pleased I am to meet you."

"What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?"

"D-D-Defense Against the D-Dark Arts." Quirrell muttered. "N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-Potter?" He gave a nervous laugh. "You'll be g-getting your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He grimaced, seeming terrified at the thought.

"Right." Lucy nodded to the man as he left and pushed the crowd away. "We should go. There's lots to do, and I'm running late."

Doris Crockford stole one more handshake and Lucy led Harry out into a small walled space with nothing but a trash can and a few weeds.

"Before you ask, I have no idea what's wrong with Quirrell." Lucy sighed. "And I told you, because of what happened on that night ten years ago, you're a very famous person in magical Britain."

She turned to the wall behind the trash can and frowned. "Dumbledore said to find the brick in the very center... then it's three up... and two across." She smirked and tapped a brick with her finger. "There we go."

Harry watched in amazement as the wall rearranged itself to provide a large opening through it. Behind the entrance there was a long cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.

"Never been here before." Lucy observed. "Forgive me if we get lost a few times."

"Hey, Lucy-nee!"

"Lucy-mama!"

Harry watched as two girls around his age, one with long dark blue hair and one with short pink hair and a tiara with wings over her ears, ran up to Lucy excitedly. A tall man with long green hair walked up slowly behind them with a smile.

"Freed." Lucy looked at the man. "Finished with what Dumbledore wanted?"

"Yeah." Freed nodded. "Got it without problems. I'll be leaving Wendy and Meledy's shopping to you now, if that's ok."

"You're not staying?"

"Nah." Freed shook his head, half-apologetic, half-amused. "Dumbledore's fascinated by my runes. He wants to study them as much as possible. Says he might even ask me to add a rune barrier to the school's wards."

"Right." Lucy sighed. "Have fun with that then."

"I'll try." Freed smirked, waved to Wendy and Meledy, and walked off.

"Who was that?" Harry asked curiously.

"A friend of mine." Lucy explained. "Freed Justine, newly named Runic Wards Professor in Hogwarts." She looked down at the girl hugging her. "Wendy, Meledy, this is Harry Potter. Harry, meet Wendy and Meledy."

"Hi!" Wendy chirped, stepping away from Lucy. "I'm Wendy Marvell." She bowed to him. "A pleasure to meet you!"

"Um..."

"Oh. Right." Lucy laughed. "Sorry. Bowing like that is a custom greeting where we come from."

"I see." Harry bowed clumsily in return. "Nice to meet you, Wendy."

Meledy giggled and bowed to him as well. "I'm Meledy Scarlet."

Harry nodded and gave a hasty bow back.

"Well then..." Lucy looked around, spotting a large marble building in the distance. "That looks like the bank. Let's go."

"So, Wendy, Meledy." Harry turned to the girls. "Do either of you know any magic?"

"Yep!" Wendy nodded enthusiastically. "None of what we'll be learning here, though. The magic we learned is unique to my homeland."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Where are you from, then?"

"Japan!" Meledy smiled, sticking to the cover story Dumbledore provided. "A quiet, out-of-the-way province where magic flourishes and magic users don't have to hide from non-magic people."

"That sounds peaceful." Harry observed. "So why are you here then?"

"A group of us was curious about the type of magic used in Europe." Lucy cut in. "We came here to trade knowledge and types of magic. Wendy and Meledy becoming students was part of the agreement. They're the only ones young enough among us. The rest of us are over graduating age already."

"Anyway, we're here." She added, climbing up the steps to the bank and glancing at the goblin guarding it, before she pushed the door open and entered the building, Harry, Meledy, and Wendy in tow.

"Hello." Lucy said, approaching an unoccupied goblin. "We'd like to take some money out of Harry Potter's vault."

The goblin glanced at her. "You have his key, miss?"

"Right here." Lucy reached into her robe and took out a tiny golden key.

Behind her, Harry turned to the two girls. "So what were those things you called Lucy earlier? Lucy-nah, or something like that..."

"Lucy-nee." Wendy corrected him. "The suffix '-nee' means 'big sister'. And what Meledy-chan uses, the suffix '-mama', should be obvious."

"Mama?" Harry repeated, turning to Meledy incredulously. "But Lucy would have to had been about four or five years old when you were born!"

"She's not my real mother, obviously." Meledy laughed. "But she cares about me and apparently wants to be a mother figure to me. She would have protested the name otherwise."

"If you are quite done..." Lucy cut in, the goblin next to her eyeing them impatiently. "We're about to head to your vault, Harry." She turned to the bank worker. "Lead the way, Griphook."

Griphook nodded and ushered them into a mine-like tunnel, calling a cart large enough for the five of them. Once they climbed in, he made a weird gesture and the cart sped off.

"I never know..." Harry glanced at the roof of the large cavern they found themselves in. "What's the difference between a stalactite and a stalagmite?"

"Stalactites hang from the ceiling-" Wendy started.

"And stalagmites rise up from the ground." Meledy finished.

At the front of the cart, Lucy cheered in exhilaration. "Can this thing go faster?"

Griphook eyed her with something resembling amusement. "One speed only."

"Aw..."

"We're here." Griphook abruptly stopped the cart and got out, unlocking a small door and showing everyone a huge amount of gold, silver, and copper coins.

Lucy grinned. "All yours."

Harry gaped at the huge amount of money in front of him, almost unaware of Lucy and Wendy gathering some of it into a bag for him.

"From what I'm told, the gold ones are Galleons, the silver ones are Sickles, and the copper ones are Knuts." Lucy explained. "A Galleon equals seventeen Sickles, and a Sickle is worth twenty-nine Knuts. Or, a Galleon is equal to 493 Knuts."

She turned to Griphook. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

"Let's see..." The blond woman scanned the list of supplies for Hogwarts. "I think we should start off with robes." She looked around and nodded towards a store called 'Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions'. "Wendy, Meledy, go with him. I'm gonna look around this street."

"Sure thing!" The two girls chorused, pulling Harry towards the shop as Lucy walked off somewhere.

"Hogwarts, dears?" Madam Malkin, a squat, smiling witch asked as soon as they entered. "Got all you need here – another young man is being fitted right now, actually."

In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale face was standing on a small stool while an assistant pinned up his robes. Two other assistants immediately got to work on Wendy and Meledy, while Madam Malkin began to work on Harry.

"Hullo." The other boy said. "Hogwarts, too?"

Harry nodded.

"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands." The boy drawled. "Then I'll drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first-years can't have their own. I think I'll push father into buying one for me and smuggle it in. Have you got a broom?"

"No."

"Play Quidditch at all?"

"No." Harry frowned, trying to hide his confusion.

"I do." The boy told him. "Father says it's a crime if I don't get picked to play for my house, and I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"

"No." Harry sighed, feeling more stupid with each sentence.

"Well, no one really knows until they get there, I guess." The boy observed. "But I know I'll be in Slytherin, all my family have been... imagine getting into Hufflepuff, I would just leave, wouldn't you?"

"Um..."

"Hey, look at that woman." The boy gestured towards the window, where Lucy stood, holding up four ice cream cones and trying to mask her impatience as she glared at Harry.

"That's Lucy." Harry told him, glad to know something the boy didn't. "She's a new teacher at Hogwarts."

"Oh yeah, I heard something about that." The boy nodded. "Supposedly, she's foreign."

"She's on an exchange program to learn our magic and teach us her native magic in return." Harry told him. He was starting to dislike the boy.

"Yes, that's right." The boy continued. "She looks really young. I don't think she's qualified to teach, do you? And look at her, she's clearly bad-tempered."

"I think she's brilliant."

"In looks, maybe." The boy snorted. "Why is she with you anyway? Where are your parents?"

"They're dead." Harry said curtly.

"Oh, sorry." The other boy didn't sound like he meant it. "But they were our kind, weren't they?"

"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."

At this point, Wendy and Meledy have gotten themselves fitted and were now waiting for Harry to be done so they could leave. Both girls watched the exchange with interest.

"I don't think they should let the other sort in." The boy explained. "They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have actually never heard of Hogwarts before getting their letter. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your name, anyway? And who are the girls?"  
"That's you done, dear." Madam Malkin cut in and Harry jumped off the stool, trying to mask his relief as the three left.

"I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose." The boy drawled after him.

* * *

"Hey, Lucy-nee." Wendy started. "I just realized, but how come you have robes already?"

"Remember the introductory staff meeting yesterday?" Lucy giggled. "Professor Sinistra freaked out as soon as she saw my clothes. She practically threw her spare robes in my face."

Lucy frowned when she noticed Harry brood over his ice cream cone. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Harry lied, before getting distracted by a bottle of color-changing ink that Lucy bought for him. As soon as they left the quill shop, Harry fell solemn again. "Lucy, what's Quidditch?"

"Quidditch..." Lucy rubbed her chin in thought. "That's the wizard sport. The most popular one too, and played on brooms, from what I hear. I don't know the rules, but you can ask the flying instructor once you're in Hogwarts. She can explain it to you."

Harry nodded. "And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?"

"School Houses." Lucy explained. "There are four of them: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Like I told you earlier, I'm the new Head of Gryffindor house. Supposedly, Gryffindor is for the brave, Hufflepuff is for the loyal, Ravenclaw is for the intelligent, and Slytherin is for the ambitious. Dumb-mort was a Slytherin too."

"He was at Hogwarts?"

"At one point, yes." Lucy sighed and checked the shopping list. "Now then, books..."

* * *

"Ok, we've got all your books, cauldrons, potions ingredients..." Lucy frowned. "That just leaves wands and Harry's birthday gift."

The boy went red. "You don't have to-"

"Nonsense." Lucy cut him off. "I really doubt that fat guy you live with ever bothered, so it falls to me. I guess I'll get you an owl... sounds like it could be useful, for mail and stuff."

She eyed the two girls. "You'll be paying for your animals yourselves, you know. So what would you want?"

Twenty minutes later, Lucy, Harry, and Wendy left Eeylops Owl Emporium and caught up with Meledy, who just left the Magical Menagerie carrying a tiny white kitten.

"Her name is Ur." She told the others proudly.

Wendy held up her cage with a large screech owl and smiled. "And her name is Grandine."

"That figures." Lucy muttered, then turned to Harry and the snowy owl he was carrying. "And what's your bird called?"

Harry stopped stammering thanks for the gift and hesitated. "Hedwig." He decided finally.

"Right." Lucy nodded. "That just leaves your wands." She pointed to a small shop with faded glass windows and an overall shabby appearance. "That looks like the place."

"Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC." Meledy read as they entered. "Sure sounds like a wand shop."

"Good afternoon." A soft voice said suddenly, causing Harry to jump and Wendy to shriek. An old man was standing before them, his wide pale eyes almost shining in the darkness of the store.

"Hello." Harry muttered awkwardly.

"Ah yes." The man nodded to himself. "Yes. I though I'd be seeing you soon, Harry Potter." He remarked. "You have your mother's eyes. It feels like only yesterday that she was in here, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Good for charms."

He moved a little closer. "Your father, however, favored a mahogany wand. Elven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it, but... it's really the wand that chooses the wizard."

"And that's where..." Ollivander leaned in and touched Harry's scar with a long finger. "I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it. Thirteen and a half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands... of course, if I'd known what that wand was going to do..."

He shook his head and only then seemed to notice the other three.

"I suppose the ladies should go first." He took out a tape measure and turned to Wendy. "Which is your wand arm?"

"Um..." Wendy looked slightly afraid of him. "My right arm."

"Hold it out." Ollivander requested, starting to measure her arm. "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance. We use unicorn hair, phoenix tail feathers, and dragon heartstrings."

Wendy's eyes widened at that.

"No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two creatures are the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."

"This will do." He observed, pulling out a box from a shelf and causing the self-functional tape measure to fall to the ground. "Try this one, Miss. Fir and unicorn hair. Ten and a half inches. Rigid. Just take it and give it a wave."

Hesitating, Wendy took the offered wand and waved it, only to have it snatched out of her hand by Ollivander almost instantly.

"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite bendy. Try it."

She barely managed to raise it before Ollivander took it back and gave her another one.

"No, no. Here – ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, try it out."

This continued on for a while, until she got yet another wand (redwood and dragon heartstring, 12 inches, unyielding) that gave off a gentle breeze when waved. Satisfied, Ollivander nodded and focused on Meledy, who ended up with an elm and phoenix feather, eight and a half inches, flexible wand when she waved it and an illusion of a light sword formed around it.

Harry went last, going through what felt like every wand in the shop, until...

"I wonder..." Ollivander trailed off, reaching for another box. "Yes, why not... unusual combination... holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple." He handed the wand to Harry.

Harry took it and felt a sudden warmth spread through him. Waving the wand in a wide arc, he made a stream of red and gold sparks shoot out from the tip.

"You're going to Gryffindor for sure." Lucy remarked, seeing that.

"Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, very good. How curious... how very curious..." Ollivander observed, putting the wand back and wrapping the box up.

"Sorry..." Harry started. "But what's curious?"

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr Potter." Ollivander stared at him. "It just so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand gave another feather – just one other. It is very curious indeed that this wand chose you when its brother was the one who gave you that scar."

Harry paled.

"Yes, thirteen and a half inches. Yew." Ollivander recalled. "Curious how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember... I think we can expect great things from you, Mr Potter. After all, He Who Must Not Be Named did great things, terrible, but great."

He turned to Lucy. "And you, Ma'am? I can sense you do not have a wand of your own."

"I'll be fine." Lucy waved him off. "And if I do need a wand for something, I'll have Wendy or Meledy help me out."

"Very well." Ollivander nodded, taking twenty-one Galleons from her and bowing them out of his shop.

* * *

Lucy frowned over her plate of fries. "You all right, Harry? You seem quiet."

Harry hesitated, putting his burger down. "Everyone thinks I'm special." He finally started. "All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr Ollivander... but I don't know magic at all." He sighed. "How can they expect great things from me? I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened when Voldemort – I mean, when my parents died."

"You'll be fine." Lucy told him. "You're not the only one with no knowledge of this world. There's many kids like you, who haven't heard anything about magic before getting their Hogwarts letter. As for the fame, it will cause you to get singled out a lot, but just ignore it. I know I would, and frankly I think that celebrating the day your parents died is stupid."

She glanced at Wendy and Meledy, who were arguing over the last chicken nugget. "Those two are just as clueless about British magic as you are. Stick with them, and I know they won't make fun of you for being ignorant."

She stood up and pointed Harry towards the train back to the Dursleys, then handed him an envelope.

"This contains your ticket to Hogwarts. Remember, September 1st, King's Cross Station. The platform is concealed in some way I don't know, but that will change by then. Seek the girls out, they'll be waiting for you to help you get on. Any problems with your caretakers, send a letter with Hedwig. She'll know where to find me. See ya."

She turned to the two girls. Wendy was munching on her spoils of war happily, while Meledy was glaring at her and promising revenge.

"Enough. Meledy, I'll get you another box of nuggets later. Now let's go."

From the window on the train, Harry watched as Lucy and the girls walked away. Rising in his seat and staring after them, he blinked and they were gone.

Oh, no – there they were – on the stairs... and now they were gone.

* * *

AN: Sorry this took so long to get out, but I'm finally back! To clarify, the Tenrou group's arrival to Hogwarts meant creating two new subjects: Alternate Magic, which is mandatory for all years, and Runic Wards, which will be a third-year-and-above elective class.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next one will be out soon.

Thanks for reading!


	3. The Road to School

Hey all! This is my first ever Fairy Tail / Harry Potter crossover! To be more precise, it's a crossover of Harry Potter and the AU Fairy Tail I created in 'The S-Class Mage'. I hope you enjoy it!

A reviewer made a very good point when he told me that not everyone has read 'The S-Class Mage' before this story. Therefore, I am putting in a list of the major differences between TSCM and canon Fairy Tail:

1. Lucy is not a weak damsel-in-distress mage. She's much more like canon Lucy Ashley from Edolas.

2. Since she's much stronger than canon Lucy and she's a successful S-Class mage, Makarov considered her a good candidate for his successor and named her Fourth Master after the Fantasia festival.

3. Ultear and Meledy joined Fairy Tail. Ultear still left Tenrou Island before Acnologia's attack, but Meledy stayed with the others and ended up getting transported to Hogwarts along with them.

4. Lucy knows two types of magic: Celestial Summoning (same spirits as in canon + a more developed Caelum), and two of the Seals of Amaterasu, which serve as her back-up Caster magic. She frequently experiments with the 28th Amaterasu Seal, having created several different versions of it by now.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Fairy Tail.

* * *

The rest of August felt like a blur to Harry. During the last month before Hogwarts, he read through his school books with interest, ticked off days until September 1st, and repeatedly studied a letter Lucy had sent him, which contained detailed answers to every question he'd asked her in Diagon Alley. The letter also said that Wendy and Meledy knew how to get on the platform, supposedly numbered 9¾, and that they would wait for him to tell him on the station.

On the last day of August he thought he'd better speak to his uncle about getting to the station, so he went down to the living room where his family was watching a quiz show on TV. He hesitated, then cleared his throat.

"Er – Uncle Vernon?"

Vernon grunted to indicate he was listening.

"Er – I need to be at King's Cross tomorrow... to go to Hogwarts."

Another grunt.

"Would it be alright if you gave me a lift?"

A brief pause, then another grunt came, this one of assent.

"Thank you."

"Funny way to get to a wizards' school, the train." Vernon suddenly said. "Magic carpets all got punctures, eh?"

Harry stayed silent.

"Where is that school, anyway?"

"I don't know." Harry realized, checking the ticket Lucy gave him. "It just says I take the train from platform 9¾ at 11 o'clock."

His family stared at him. "Platform what?"

"Nine and three quarters."

"Don't talk rubbish." Vernon scowled. "There is no platform like that."

"It's on my ticket."

"Barking." Vernon shook his head. "Howling mad, the lot of them. You'll see, you just wait. All right, I'll take you there. You'll be gone for nine months, so I can deal with wasting gas on it."

* * *

They reached King's Cross at half past ten. Uncle Vernon dropped Harry's trunk on a cart and wheeled it into the station for him. Harry considered it surprisingly nice until Vernon stopped dead, observing the platforms with a nasty grin.

"There you are, boy. Platform nine – platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in between, but it doesn't appear to have been built yet, wouldn't you say?"

"Have a good term." He added sarcastically, leaving Harry to gape at the nothing between the two platforms. The boy glanced back and saw him drive away, hunched over the wheel and laughing. Harry paled as his predicament became fully apparent. Wendy and Meledy were supposed to greet him, so where were they? Was the whole thing an elaborate joke?

Worried, he stopped a passing guard, but didn't dare mention platform 9¾. The guard had never heard of Hogwarts, nor did he know of any train leaving at 11. Apologizing to the man, Harry leaned against his cart and sighed. According to the large clock over the arrival board, Harry had fifteen minutes left to get on the train to Hogwarts and no idea how to do it. He began to panic as the lack of the two girls with the necessary information became more pronounced with each minute.

At that moment a group of people passed just behind him and he managed to hear a few words of what they were saying.

"Packed with Muggles, of course..."

Harry spun towards the speaker, a plump woman who was talking to four boys, all with red hair. Each of them was pushing a trunk similar to Harry's, and one of them also had an owl. Harry gulped and made to follow them.

"Hey!" Meledy's voice stopped him as she and Wendy ran over to him. "Sorry about the wait. You ok?"

Harry released a deep breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Kinda panicked, but otherwise fine." He answered, giving a shaky smile.

"Ok, come with us then." Meledy told him. "Our carts are on the other side already."

"But where is the platform?"

"Lucy-nee did tell us we were to explain to him." Wendy reminded Meledy.

"Right." Meledy pointed at the barrier between the two platforms. "Platform 9¾ is hidden by an illusion behind that. You have to walk through the bricks to get there. I found that running makes it more unpleasant but faster. Go on, then."

Harry nodded and steeled himself. Turning towards the barrier, he pushed his cart forward and broke into a run. Afraid of crashing into the solid wall, he closed his eyes...

"Nice one, Harry. You managed not to piss yourself."

Harry opened his eyes and noticed Meledy smirk at him with amusement, while Wendy was trying to stifle giggles.

"But closing your eyes is stupid." Meledy admonished him. "What if someone got in your way and you crashed into them because you didn't see them? You didn't even notice us running behind you."

Harry nodded and looked around the platform in awe. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a crowded area. A sign overhead said 'Hogwarts Express, 11 o'clock', smoke drifted over the heads of the gathered people, cats of many colors were wandering everywhere, and owls were hooting to each other, disgruntled about the commotion.

"Come on." Meledy told him, reclaiming her cart. "We'd better find seats for us, the first few carriages are full already."

The three pressed on through the crowd until they found an empty compartment near the end of the train. Harry and Wendy put their owls inside first and then focused on their trunks.

"Say, Harry-san." Wendy started. "Would you like to see some of our native magic?"

Wide-eyed, Harry nodded eagerly.

"O strength of arms that cleave the heavens..." Wendy muttered. "Arms!"

Harry watched in awe as Wendy's body glowed briefly, before she effortlessly lifted two trunks at once and carried them in.

"Is her magic super strength?" He asked Meledy.

"That's a small part of it." The girl told him. "She knows enchantments for increased strength, speed, and body durability."

"I also know a few spells from my adoptive mother." Wendy added, returning for the third trunk. "By the way, Meledy-chan, what happened to your wing tiara?"

"I took it off, of course." Meledy told her, as she and Harry got on the train. "It's not part of the standard uniform, so I can only wear it on weekends."

"You have pink hair." One of the red-haired twins he'd seen earlier observed, staring at Meledy. "Is that natural?"

"Yeah." Meledy nodded. "Hers is too." She motioned to Wendy.

The other twin glanced at Harry and frowned, leaning in. "That thing on your forehead..."

"Blimey..." The first twin noticed Harry's scar. "Are you-"

"He is." The other one nodded. "Aren't you?"

"What?"

"Harry Potter." The twins chorused.

"Oh, him." Harry mused, causing Meledy to burst out laughing. "I mean, yes, I am."

The two boys gaped at him and Harry felt his face turn red.

"Fred? George?" A voice called the boys, much to Harry's relief. "Are you there?"

"Coming, Mum." The twins sent Harry one last look and hopped off the train.

Harry watched through the window as the family of redheads converged, discussing something called a 'Prefect', the twins blowing up toilets, and the youngest boy and the dirt on his nose.

"Hey, Mum, guess what?" One of the twins started. "Guess who we met on the train?"

Harry leaned back quickly to avoid getting noticed.

"You know that black-haired boy with the two girls with awesome hair? Know who he is?"

"Who?"

"He's Harry Potter!"

"Oh, Mum, can I go on the train and see him?" The youngest girl squealed. "Mum, please..."

Meledy gaped at Harry with a mixture of shock and amusement. "You have fangirls." She announced, causing Wendy to start giggling.

"The poor boy isn't something you stare at in a zoo." The mother admonished her. "Is he really, Fred? How do you know?"

"Asked him. Saw his scar." One of the twins answered. "I wonder, do you know he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?"

"I forbid you to ask him, Fred." Their mother suddenly turned stern. "Don't you dare. As if he needs reminding of that on his first day at school."

"All right, keep your hair on."

A loud whistle rang out across the platform.

"Hurry up!" The mother ushered the three boys on the train. They leaned out of the window for her to kiss them goodbye and their sister began to cry.

"Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls."

"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat."

"George!"

"Only joking, Mum."

Harry watched as the train began to move and the girl and her mother disappeared once it rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window and Harry felt a great leap of excitement. He didn't know what awaited him, but it had to be better than what he left behind.

The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest redhead came in.

"Anyone sitting here?" He asked, pointing at the seat next to Meledy. "Everywhere else is full."

Harry shook his head and the boy sat down. He glanced at Harry and then looked quickly out of the window, pretending he hadn't looked. Harry noticed he still had a black mark on his nose from when his mother tried to rub the dirt off.

"Hey, Ron." One of the twins looked in. "Listen, we're going to the middle of the train – Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."

"Right." Ron mumbled.

"Harry." The other twin started. "Did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And that's our brother, Ron. Who are the girls?"

"I'm Meledy." The girl nodded at them.

"Wendy." The other girl mumbled shyly.

"Right. A pleasure." The first twin smiled. "See you later, then."

"Bye." Harry, Ron, and Meledy chorused.

Ron waited until the compartment door slid shut. "Are you really Harry Potter?"

Harry nodded.

"Oh, um... I thought it might have been one of Fred and George's jokes." Ron hesitated. "And have you really got the... you know-"

He gestured towards Harry's forehead. Meledy frowned at his lack of tact.

Harry pulled back his hair to show the lightning-shaped scar. Ron gaped at it.

"So that's where You-Know-Who-"

Meledy snorted.

"Yes." Harry ignored her. "But I can't remember it."

"Nothing?" Ron asked eagerly.

"Well, I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else."

"Wow." Ron muttered, staring at Harry in awe for a few moments, before realizing it and turning quickly to look out the window.

"Are all your family wizards?" Harry asked, finding Ron mildly interesting.

"I think so." Ron frowned in thought. "I think Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."

Harry nodded and turned to the girls. "And you? Are your families magical?"

"Lucy-mama and Erza-papa both are." Meledy nodded. "My birth parents weren't, though."

"I never knew my parents, so I can't say." Wendy added quietly. "But my caretaker taught me magic."

"So what are your families like?" Ron asked curiously. "I've never met foreign wizards or witches before. Is your magic the same as ours?"

"It's completely different." Meledy observed. "There are many types of it, and many of them require a magical focus, but no magic in our homeland needs a wand. Lucy-mama, for example, uses gold and silver keys to summon mystical creatures. Erza-papa's magic, on the other hand, is meant only for battle, since she can use swords and armor that she stores in a small dimension, which only she can access."

Harry and Ron shared looks of confusion.

"This Erza person..." Ron started hesitantly. "It's a woman?"

Meledy nodded. "Yes, why?" She noticed their surprised faces. "What?"

"Wait..." Harry thought about it. "If you call two women 'Mum' and 'Dad'..."

"That's awesome!" Ron breathed. "Your parents are both women!"

"Yeah, so?" Meledy looked confused. "So they're lesbians. What's the big deal? Isn't that tolerated here or something?"

"Amongst women, it's mostly ok." Ron observed. "It's the men from the old families that are criticized for that sort of stuff. Has to do with having an heir and all that."

Wendy nodded in understanding.

Ron turned to Harry. "Anyway, I heard you went to live with Muggles. What are they like?"

"Horrible." Harry grimaced. "Well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I had three wizard brothers."

"Five." Ron muttered sullenly. "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I have a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left – Bill was Head Boy and Charlie was Quidditch Captain. Now Percy's a Prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get good marks and everyone likes them. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a sleeping fat rat. "His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a Prefect, but they couldn't aff- I mean, I got Scabbers instead."

His ears then went pink and he hastily turned to look out the window again.

"It's similar for me." Wendy said suddenly. "Three people in our group use the same magic I do, and all of them are more skilled than me at it. I was actually scared of one of them when I first met him. Everyone in the group is like family and they don't care about who's strong and who's not, but the others are still the first ones to get asked if something needs to be done."

"What is your magic, anyway?" Ron asked, forgetting his earlier tirade. "You told me what your parents can do, but I don't know what your abilities are."

"Among others, I can enhance someone's strength, speed, and body durability." Wendy explained. "I can also heal people."

Harry and Ron nodded and turned to Meledy expectantly.

"My magic is a bit more vicious than hers." Meledy observed, forming a sword of light in the air. "These swords target one's sense of pain. I can also link people's feelings together, letting everyone affected feel the same things."

Ron shivered. "That's scary."

"Still, we know nothing about the magic used here." Meledy added. "We're going to be just as clueless as Harry here once classes start."

Harry nodded. "Until Lucy told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort-"

Ron's gasp cut him off. "You said You-Know-Who's name!" The redhead exclaimed. "I'd have thought you, of all people-"

"Wait, people are scared of the name?" Meledy interrupted, sounding amused. "Lucy-mama won't believe me when I tell her. She came up with all sorts of insulting names for him: Volde-idiot, Dumb-mort, the Dark Fool... the list goes on."

Ron gaped at her, before shaking his head in disbelief. "Anyway, Harry, even if you don't know anything about being a wizard, you'll hardly be the only one. Loads of people come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough."

At that point, the door to their compartment opened and a smiling woman stuck her head in. "Anything off the trolley, dears?"

The other three watched in amazement as Harry gathered up a large stack of everything and brought it in, dumping it on an empty seat.

"Hungry, are you?" Ron forced out.

"Starving." Harry agreed, starting munching on a pumpkin pasty and forcing Ron to trade his dry sandwiches for another one. "Anyway, what are these?"

Ron glanced at the package Harry was holding. "Chocolate Frogs. Check what the card inside is, could ya? I'm missing Agrippa."

"What?"

"Oh, right." Ron shook his head. "Chocolate Frogs have cards with them to collect – famous wizards and witches. I've got over five hundred, but I'm missing Agrippa and Ptolemy."

Meledy glanced inside her Frog and grinned. "Look at that, I found Agrippa."

"I have Ptolemy." Wendy giggled, holding up her new-found card.

Harry laughed as he watched Ron fall over himself begging the two girls for their cards. Eventually, they shrugged and handed them over. Smirking, he turned back to his card and examined the picture of a man with half-moon glasses, long crooked nose, and flowing silver hair and beard.

"So this is Dumbledore." He observed.

"Good guy." Meledy nodded. "He let our group join Hogwarts as students and teachers even though we literally dropped in on him out of nowhere."

Harry nodded absently, reading the information about Dumbledore that the card had on the back, Flipping it back to the picture, his eyes widened when he saw the man gone.

"He vanished!"

"Well, yeah." Ron told him. "He's not gonna hang around there all day. Here, I found another Morgana... you can start collecting." He smiled widely. "I know I'm done with my collection!"

Meledy chuckled. "You're welcome."

Harry smiled as well and handed Ron another two Frogs. "You know, in Muggle photos, people just stay put in photos."

"They do that back home as well." Meledy remarked. "Animating photos wasn't something we ever considered necessary."

"What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed. "Weird!"

Harry turned away from the Chocolate Frogs and held up a box labeled Bertie Bott's Every-Flavor Beans. "And those?"  
"Careful." Ron warned him. "They actually mean every flavor. You can find ordinary ones like chocolate or coffee, but you can also get weird ones like spinach and liver. George claims to have gotten a bogey-flavored one once."

"I propose a contest." Meledy announced. "Whoever gets the most unusual bean wins. First Ron goes, then me, then Harry, and then Wendy. Sound good?" She finished by spreading out a newspaper sheet and emptying all the bean boxes on it.

Ron nodded, picked up a green bean, examined it carefully, and bit into a corner. "Ewww... sprouts."

"Paper."

"Toast."

"Raw fish."

"Tripe."

"Hmm... hair, I think."

"I got coconut."

"Chicken."

"Peppermint."

"Cough...cough...keh... ink. Your turn, Harry."

"Baked bean."

Wendy bit into a dark red bean. Her eyes widened and she quickly threw it away, rushing out of the compartment towards the toilet. Meledy picked it up and sniffed it, her eyes narrowing in disgust. "Blood."

Ron paled and promptly took out all reddish beans from the pile.

Eventually, Harry reached for the last bean, a dark gray one, and bit into it. "Pepper."

During their game, the scenery outside had changed. Now there were woods, twisting rivers and dark green hills.

There was a knock on the door and a round-faced boy looked in, blinking tearfully. "Sorry, but have you seen a toad at all?"

Seeing their heads shake, he sighed. "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"

"I guess I can help you look." Meledy stood up and made to leave. "I'll be back soon, you guys."

"I don't know why he's so bothered." Ron observed. "If I brought a toad I'd try to lose it as soon as possible. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk."

Said rat was snoozing on Ron's lap.

"You wouldn't eve be able to tell if he died." Ron muttered. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. Here, I'll show you..."

He opened his trunk and took out a battered wand. It was chipped in places and something white was was shining at the end of it.

"Unicorn's hair is nearly poking up." Ron explained. "Ok, here goes-"

The door slid open again. Meledy and the toad-less boy were back, accompanied by another girl, who was already wearing Hogwarts robes.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one." The bushy-haired girl asked in a bossy voice.

Meledy crossed her arms and scowled. "I told you, he already asked here! This is my compartment."

The girl ignored her, focusing on Ron's raised wand. "Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then."

She sat down. Ron looked surprised and Meledy huffed in annoyance.

"Er – all right then." He cleared his throat. "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."

He waved his wand, but nothing happened.

"Catchy." Meledy observed.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" The new girl asked. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells for practice and they all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was so pleased, of course, I mean it's the best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard – I've learned all our set books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough – I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"

"Thank you for your life story." Meledy muttered under her nose. Neville tried hard not to giggle. "Anyway, I'm Meledy Scarlet."

"I'm Ron Weasley." Ron managed to say.

"Wendy Marvell."

"Harry Potter."

"Are you really?" Hermione looked excited. "I know all about you, of course – I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in _Modern Magical History_ and _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_ and _Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century_."

"Levy will love her." Meledy told Wendy, who nodded in agreement.

Harry looked dazed. "I'm in all that?"

"Didn't you know?" Hermione asked. "I'd have found out everything I know if it was me. Do any of you know which house you'll be in? I've been asking around and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best, I hear Dumbledore himself was one, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad... anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You all should change soon, we're nearly there."

And she left, taking Neville with her. Meledy gave a sigh of relief and slid into her seat.

"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not there." Ron grumbled. "Stupid spell – George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud."

Harry looked curious. "What house are your brothers in?"

"Gryffindor." Ron said, turning gloomy again. "Mum and Dad were there, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin."

"Oh, I don't know." Meledy smirked. "The house of the cunning and ambitious... I wouldn't mind going there, myself."

Ron gaped at her. "But that's the house You-Know-Who was in!" He protested, aghast.

"So?" Meledy shrugged. "Listen, you know how Lucy-mama is the new Head of Gryffindor House? Well, she and the other adults got themselves Sorted, out of curiosity. Most of them got sorted as Gryffindors, but Lucy-mama was declared an excellent Slytherin. Still, if you dislike Slytherin that much... Gryffindor sounds like fun too."

"You know, Scabbers' whiskers look a bit lighter." Harry observed, trying to change the subject. "So what do your oldest brothers do now that they left?"

"Charlie works with dragons in Romania and Bill's in Africa on a job for Gringotts." Ron told them. "Did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the Daily Prophet – someone tried to rob a high-security vault."

"Really?" The others stared at him. "What happened to them?"

"Nothing, that's why it's such big news." Ron was getting excited. "They haven't been caught. Gringotts says that the thief didn't even take anything. Course, everyone gets scared when stuff like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it. Anyway, what's your Quidditch team?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know any."

"What?" Ron was shocked. "You just wait, it's the best game in the world..." And he began explaining everything about the four balls and seven players, about games he'd been to and all about the perfect broom he'd want to play the game on. He just got to some finer points of the game when the door slid open again.

Three boys entered and Harry, Wendy, and Meledy recognized the middle one instantly; it was the pale boy from Madam Malkin's. He was looking at Harry with a lot more interest than he'd shown him back in Diagon Alley.

"Is it true?" He started. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, isn't it?"

"Yes." Harry nodded, eyeing the two large boys standing either side of the blond and looking like bodyguards.

"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle." The boy explained. "And my name's Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."

Ron gave a small snort-like cough. Malfoy glanced at him. "Think my name's funny, huh? No need to ask who you are. My father's told me all Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford." He eyed Wendy and Meledy critically. "And those two stand out so much, they're clearly foreigners."

He turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

Harry glanced at Malfoy's offered hand. "I think I can decide who the wrong sort are on my own."

Malfoy turned slightly pink. "I'd watch it, Potter. Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with people like the Weasleys and those foreigners and it will rub off on you."

Harry, Ron, and Meledy stood up. Ron's face was as red as his hair. "Say that again." He demanded.

Malfoy sneered. "Going to fight us, are you?"

"Unless you leave now." Harry ordered, trying not to seem nervous about the hulking forms of Crabbe and Goyle. Next to him Meledy appeared unconcerned, seeming almost bored.

"But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys?" Malfoy smirked. "We've eaten all our food and you seem to still have some."

Goyle reached forward towards the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron. The redhead surged forward, starting to say something, but before he could do anything...

"Sky Dragon's Roar."

A thin, watered-down beam of light blue energy slammed into Goyle, knocking him out of the compartment and into the opposite wall, where he slumped, dazed. At the same time, Meledy spun around and planted her foot firmly between Crabbe's legs, causing the boy to shriek in pain and collapse. Turning to Malfoy, she snapped her fingers and several swords made of yellow light pinned him to the far wall by his robes.

_Awesome line, awesome line, need an awesome line..._ She scowled. "Who's the wrong sort now, huh?"

* * *

Shortly after they changed, a voice echoed in the train. "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken up to the school separately."

Harry's stomach lurched with nerves and Ron seemed to pale under his freckles. Wendy shivered and pressed herself into her seat, while Meledy stood up with a yawn and a confident grin. The train slowed down and finally came to a stop. People began to exit their compartments and push their way towards the door and out onto a tiny, dark platform. Harry shivered in the cold night air as a lamp began bobbing over the heads of the students and a loud voice rang out.

"Firs'-years!" A huge man with wild hair and a thick beard shouted. "Firs'-years over here! Follow me and mind yer step, now! Firs'-years follow me!"

"Yeh'll get your firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec." The large man called to the silent children. "Jus' round this bend here."

A chorus of gasps spread through the crowd as they turned and saw a vast castle with many turrets and towers looming over a lake with water darkened by the night.

"No more'n four to a boat!" The guide ordered, pointing to a gathering of small boats. Harry and Ron climbed into a nearby boat and were followed by Wendy and Meledy.

"Everyone in?" The man shouted to check. "Right then – forward!"

Harry watched in awe as the boats swam across the lake, reached the cliff on which the castle stood, then swam through a curtain of ivy and a dark tunnel leading to a set of stone stairs.

"Oi, you there! Is this your toad?" The guide called, checking the boats after everyone climbed out.

"Trevor!" Neville cried out, hurriedly picking up the toad. After that, they walked up the stone steps and crowded around the huge oak front door.

"Everyone here? You there, still got your toad?"

The man raised a huge fist and knocked three times on the large door, which opened instantly. A young blond woman in light violet robes stood there, staring at their guide expectantly. The guide glanced at the woman awaiting them and nodded. "The firs'-years, Professor Heartfilia."

* * *

AN: To clarify, the Tenrou group's arrival to Hogwarts meant creating two new subjects: Alternate Magic, which is mandatory for all years, and Runic Wards, which will be a third-year-and-above elective class.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next one will be out soon.

Thanks for reading!


	4. Bravery, Loyalty, Intelligence, Ambition

Hey all! This is my first ever Fairy Tail / Harry Potter crossover! To be more precise, it's a crossover of Harry Potter and the AU Fairy Tail I created in 'The S-Class Mage'. I hope you enjoy it!

A reviewer made a very good point when he told me that not everyone has read 'The S-Class Mage' before this story. Therefore, I am putting in a list of the major differences between TSCM and canon Fairy Tail:

1. Lucy is not a weak damsel-in-distress mage. She's much more like canon Lucy Ashley from Edolas.

2. Since she's much stronger than canon Lucy and she's a successful S-Class mage, Makarov considered her a good candidate for his successor and named her Fourth Master after the Fantasia festival.

3. Ultear and Meledy joined Fairy Tail. Ultear still left Tenrou Island before Acnologia's attack, but Meledy stayed with the others and ended up getting transported to Hogwarts along with them.

4. Lucy knows two types of magic: Celestial Summoning (same spirits as in canon + a more developed Caelum), and two of the Seals of Amaterasu, which serve as her back-up Caster magic. She frequently experiments with the 28th Amaterasu Seal, having created several different versions of it by now.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Fairy Tail.

* * *

"I would have thought this was the Deputy's job, not the Gryffindor Heads' job." Lucy muttered, before smiling. "Thank you, Hagrid. I should be fine from here." She looked over the crowd of children curiously. "Follow me, you guys."

She pulled the door wide open, leading them into a huge hall lit with flaming torches. They followed her across the stone floor and past a large doorway into a small empty chamber next to the hall. Then they crowded in, looking rather nervous and huddling closer together then they normally would have.

"Welcome to Hogwarts." Lucy started. "The start-of-year feast will begin shortly, but before you can sit down and eat, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is an important event because while you are here, your house will be the closest thing to a family. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room."

"The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin." Lucy continued. "Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding wizards and witches. While you are here, your successes will get you house points, while breaking rules will make you lose them. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will receive the House Cup. I hope that each of you will be an asset to whichever house you join."

"The Sorting ceremony will start in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I would advise making yourselves presentable before it begins. I'll come back when we're ready for you. Please wait quietly." With that, she left.

After a panicked discussion of what the Sorting will look like and a shocking entrance by the Fat Friar and a few other ghosts, Lucy came back. "Ok, we're ready to begin. Form a line and follow me."

She led them into a magnificent room with thousands of lit candles hovering over four long tables. At the far end of the room was a fifth table, at which the teachers and staff were seated. Lucy led them to that table and made them line up facing the students. Trying to avoid all the staring eyes, Harry looked up to a black ceiling dotted with stars.

"It's bewitched to look like the sky outside." Hermione whispered. "I read about it in _Hogwarts: A History_."

"Nobody asked you." Meledy hissed, quietly enough to avoid being heard by the teachers.

Harry then looked down again and noticed Lucy place a stool with an old hat on top of it in front of the first-years. For a few seconds, nothing happened, and then the hat burst into song.

"_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me.  
You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the __Hogwarts __Sorting Hat  
And I can cap them all.  
There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be.  
You might belong in __Gryffindor__,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
__Set __Gryffindor__s apart;  
You might belong in __Hufflepuff__,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient __Hufflepuff__s are true  
And unafraid of toil;  
Or yet in wise old __Ravenclaw__,  
if you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;  
Or perhaps in Slytherin  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folks use any means  
To achieve their ends.  
So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

"So we just have to try the hat on!" Ron breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll kill Fred, he kept going on about wrestling a troll!"

"When I call out your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." Lucy announced, holding a long roll of parchment. "Abbott, Hannah!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Brocklehurst, Mandy!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Brown, Lavender!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Bulstrode, Millicent!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Crabbe, Vincent!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Davis, Tracy!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Finch-Fletchey, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Finnigan, Seamus!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Goyle, Gregory!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Granger, Hermione!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Ron groaned.

"Greengrass, Daphne!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Longbottom, Neville!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Laughter rang out in the Great Hall as Neville ran off, still wearing the hat. Red-faced, he had to go back and hand it over to the next first-year in line, 'MacDougal, Morag'.

"Macmillan, Ernie!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Malfoy, Draco!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

Lucy smiled. "Marvell, Wendy!"

_Interesting..._ The Hat started, causing Wendy to almost jump in shock. _Don't worry, I'm the Hat. I have to look in your mind to decide on where to put you. Ah, I see... A kind, gentle person... Not afraid to work hard and very, very loyal... that would mean Hufflepuff, however... out of those you're loyal to, only one is a student... and from your memories, I can at least tell she's not meant for Hufflepuff, and you won't be comfortable there by yourself. There is quite an amount of bravery here too, so..._

"GRYFFINDOR!"

A few more names ticked down, before... "Potter, Harry."

Whispers broke out around the hall as Harry stepped forward.

"Potter, did she say?"

"_The_ Harry Potter?"

_Hmm..._ A small voice said in his ear. _Difficult... very difficult... plenty of courage and not a bad mind. There's talent, and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting... so what should I do with you?_

Harry gripped the edges of the stool tightly. _Not Slytherin, not Slytherin..._

_Oh? Not Slytherin, eh? You know, the woman who gave you your letter fits that house well. Don't you want to develop the same behavior characteristics she did? It's all here in your head, and Slytherin would help you on your way to greatness... no? Well, if you're sure... better be..._

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry was so relieved to avoid Slytherin and get into Gryffindor, he didn't notice he got the loudest cheer yet as he shakily approached the Gryffindor table. Ron's twin brothers were loudly shouting 'We got Potter', while their older brother the Prefect was shaking his hand vigorously. Looking up at the staff table, he noticed Hagrid the boat guide give him a thumbs-up for some reason. Harry also recognized Dumbledore from his Chocolate Frog card and Quirrell from his visit to Diagon Alley. Over by the remaining first-years, Lucy was smiling to herself.

"Scarlet, Meledy!"

Oh. That was probably why. Still, Harry couldn't complain about Lucy being more interested in her pseudo-daughter than in him, some kid she met a month ago.

_I already recognize you from Miss Marvell's memories._ The Hat started. _Quite mischievous and adventurous, and often fascinated by things others would consider dangerous, like with that small old man who can become a giant... an easy decision as far as I'm concerned._

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Wendy gave a huge sigh of relief at getting her friend in the same house.

"Thomas, Dean."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Turpin, Lisa!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Weasley, Ronald!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Zabini, Blaise!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

And with that, Lucy rolled up the parchment and carried the Hat away. At the same time, Albus Dumbledore rose to his feet.

"Welcome!" He started. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin the feast, I'd like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

He sat back down amidst cheers and applause. Meledy was laughing her ass off, while Wendy was unsure whether to join her or face-palm.

"Is he a bit mad?" Harry asked Percy the Prefect uncertainly.

"He's a genius. Best wizard in the world!" Percy shrugged. "But yes, he is a bit mad. Potatoes, Harry?"

Harry's jaw dropped at the sight of suddenly full plates, containing nearly all the foods he could name and some he couldn't. Excited, he piled some of everything except mint humbugs on his plate and began to eat.

"I am gonna get so fat here." Meledy observed, ignoring her own words in favor of a plate full of steak, bacon, and fries.

"That looks good." A ghost sitting across from him commented, watching Harry cut up his steak.

"Can't you-"

"I haven't eaten for about four hundred years." The ghost shook his head. "I don't need to, but one does miss it. By the way, I'm Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor tower."

"I know who you are!" Ron exclaimed. "My brothers told me about you. You're Nearly Headless Nick!"

The ghost frowned. "I would prefer that you call me Sir Nicholas-"

"Nearly headless?" Seamus Finnigan interrupted eagerly. "How can you be nearly headless?"

Sir Nicholas gave him an annoyed look. "Like this." He grunted, pulling on his ear and making his head swing off his neck, attached only by a single strand of skin.

Nick grinned at the shocked looks on everyone's face. "So, new Gryffindors! I hope you're ready to help us win the House Cup this year! Gryffindor has never gone so long without winning. Slytherin has gotten the House Cup for six years in a row and the Bloody Baron's become almost unbearable – he's the Slytherin ghost."

Harry glanced at the Slytherin table and winced at the sight of a ghost with blank staring eyes and covered in silvery blood.

"How did he get covered in blood?" Seamus asked with interest.

"I've never asked." Nick admitted.

Soon after, the food vanished and got replaced by various desserts. Conversations shifted to different topics, like Dean, Seamus, and Neville discussing their families, and Hermione debating different subjects with Percy. Harry, who was starting to feel sleepy, glanced up at the staff table again. Hagrid was drinking deeply from his goblet. Lucy was laughing about something with a scantily clad brunette woman, who seemed to have an entire barrel of alcohol to herself. On Lucy's other side a stern redhead in silver robes was scolding two men, one with pink hair and a scaly scarf and the other half-naked for some reason. What seemed to be a blue cat – and here Harry rubbed his eyes in disbelief – was hovering over the pink-haired boy by using long wings. A similar cat, except white and female, was watching Wendy eat with a satisfied look. Harry also recognized Freed among them. An older strict-looking woman in emerald robes was talking to Dumbledore, and Quirrell was talking to a man with greasy black hair and a hooked nose. Then, as if sensing him, the hook-nosed man turned from Quirrell and looked straight at Harry – and a sharp pain shot across the scar on Harry's forehead.

Percy frowned, seeing Harry wince. "What is it?"

"N-nothing." Harry stammered, puzzled by the dislike he sensed from the man. "Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?"

"Oh, you know Quirrell already?" Percy observed. "No wonder he looks nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but what he really wants is Quirrell's job. Knows a lot about the Dark Arts, that man."

Eventually, the desserts also disappeared and Dumbledore stood up again. "Ahem... just a few more words now that we're all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you."

"First off, we've had major changes to our courses. A group of Eastern wizards and witches have arrived at Hogwarts to learn our magic and teach their own in exchange. As such, two of their number have joined as first-year students, while some of the others will teach a mandatory subject known as Alternate Magic."

"Now, there have been several complications regarding that. Due to the variety of magic they know and because of other issues that rose up, each year will be taught by a different person. First-years will be taught by Professor Lisanna Strauss."

A young woman with short white hair stood up and bowed to the students.

"Second-year students will have classes with Professor Levy McGarden, who will also work as an assistant librarian under Madam Pince."

A short woman with blue hair stood up nervously. Next to her, a tough-looking man with long black hair and a black cat carrying a small sword smirked in unison.

"Third-years will attend classes led by our new assistant nurse, Professor Mirajane Strauss."

Another white-haired woman in faded red robes stood up and waved cheerfully.

"Fourth-years will be taught by Professor Cana Alberona."

The woman with her own barrel of alcohol stood up and raised a mug in salute to the students, before drinking from her barrel directly, much to everyone's amusement.

"Fifth-years will learn under our new Head of Gryffindor House, Professor Lucy Heartfilia."

Lucy stood up and gave the students a confident smirk. The Gryffindor table burst into cheers and catcalls.

"Sixth-year students will attend classes taught by Professor Evergreen."

A woman with wavy dark-blond hair stood up and made an elegant pose, adjusting her glasses at the same time.

"And lastly, seventh-years will study with Professor Erza Scarlet."

The stern redhead in silver robes looked around the Great Hall. Many students glanced between her and Meledy, already starting to gossip.

"Apart from that, we also have a new elective course for third-years and above, called Runic Wards. That will be taught by Professor Freed Justine."

"Some of the other visitors will also be helping out around the castle. Mr Natsu Dragneel and Mr Gray Fullbuster are going to be assisting Hagrid in his duties regarding the Forbidden Forest."

The pink-haired boy with the scarf and the half-naked one stood up and waved.

"The rest of them will help out with various odd jobs around the castle. Those are Mr Makarov Dreyar, Mr Laxus Dreyar, Mr Gajeel Redfox, Mr Elfman Strauss, Mr Gildarts Clive, Miss Juvia Lockser, and Mr Bixlow."

Each person stood up and bowed in turn as their name was announced.

"Now that introductions are done, I'd like to note that students are not allowed in the Forbidden Forest. Some of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

"Mr Filch, our caretaker, has asked me to remind you that no magic is to be used in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the semester. Anyone interested in playing for their house team should contact Madam Hooch."

"And finally, I must tell you that this year the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side of the school is out of bounds for anyone who does not wish to die a most painful death."

"So that's Meledy's father figure..." Ron muttered, staring at Erza curiously.

"Kinda scary." Harry observed. "Still, we don't have to deal with her till our last year."

"That Lucy woman is mental if you ask me." Ron shook his head. "Imagine liking someone like that."

Meledy slapped him upside his head. "Erza-papa is awesome!" She protested.

After a ridiculous performance of the school song, which the Weasley twins sang in a funeral march as a joke, Dumbledore clapped his hands. "Ok, bedtime! Off you trot!"

* * *

"Ugh..." Lucy fell straight onto a queen-size bed and gave a huge sigh of relief. "So tired..."

Erza gave a chuckle. "Dealing with first-years too much for you, Cy?"

"Shut up, Za." Lucy moaned. "You're gonna be dealing with mature people, you don't get to laugh at me."

"I pity Lisanna." Erza observed. "She has to handle the first-years. She's too nice for them, they're gonna walk all over her."

"No, they won't." Lucy waved that off. "She's not that timid. She'll be fine."

Erza shrugged, not wholly convinced. "If you say so."

* * *

AN: To clarify, the Tenrou group's arrival to Hogwarts meant creating two new subjects: Alternate Magic, which is mandatory for all years, and Runic Wards, which will be a third-year-and-above elective class.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next one will be out soon.

Thanks for reading!


	5. Classes and Tea

Hey all! This is my first ever Fairy Tail / Harry Potter crossover! To be more precise, it's a crossover of Harry Potter and the AU Fairy Tail I created in 'The S-Class Mage'. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Fairy Tail.

* * *

"There, look."

"Where?"

"Next to the tall girl with short pink hair."

"Wearing the glasses?"

"Did you see his face?"

"Did you see his scar?"

Meledy smirked as one of the people staring at Harry walked into a wall. "Did you see your way forward?"

Still, this wasn't the first time this had happened. Whispers like those had followed him from the moment he had left his dormitory. People would queue up outside classrooms to get a good look at him, or turn around in a hallway just to pass him again. Harry wished they would stop, because he was trying to concentrate on finding his way to classes. Even shy and quiet Wendy had started muttering about using something called a Sky Dragon's Roar, something which sounded familiar to Harry but which he couldn't quite remember.

Navigating the castle was a pain. On top of long hallways, tricky staircases, and trapped doorways, there were the ghosts. Some, like Nick, were happy to help the Gryffindors out, but a nasty poltergeist known as Peeves seemed to try his hardest to make people late for class.

Even worse than Peeves, though, was the caretaker Argus Filch and his pet cat, Mrs Norris. Harry and Ron had somehow gotten separated from Wendy and Meledy and managed to get on Filch's bad side on their very first morning, when he found them trying to force their way through the door that turned out to lead to the forbidden hallway on the third floor. They only managed to get out of trouble because Professor Quirrell, who was passing by, rescued them.

And then, once getting there proved possible, there were the lessons themselves. In Astronomy, they had to study the skies every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of various stars and planetary movements. Harry was surprised to find that Lucy, who seemed to have a fascination with stars, often joined in on Astronomy lessons and took notes along with the students. Apparently Lucy and Professor Sinistra had become good friends since they first met. There was also Herbology, taught by Professor Sprout, and History of Magic, the most boring lesson in school, which was taught by the ghostly Professor Binns.

Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. As soon as he reached Harry's name during attendance in their first lesson, he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight. Harry also noted that Wendy had a very caring nature when she immediately shot over there and helped him back up.

Professor McGonagall, the strict older woman, wasn't a teacher to cross. Strict and clever, she gave a solemn speech the moment her first class with them started.

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts." She told them. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

With that, she changed her desk into a pig and back again. The students were all impressed and excited, but it soon waned after they took a lot of notes and were eventually ordered to turn a match into a needle. By the end of the lesson, Professor McGonagall had shown the class how Hermione Granger's match had gone all silver and pointy. Then she turned around and awarded Meledy ten points to Gryffindor for a perfectly transfigured match, leaving one girl pleased with herself and one growling with envy.

Friday proved to be a successful day for Harry and Ron, as they had managed to get from their dormitory to the Great Hall without getting lost or relying on Wendy's surprisingly accurate sense of direction to get them there.

"What do we have today?" Harry asked Ron, piling up some food on his plate.

"Double Potions with the Slytherins, then Alternate Magic with Strauss." Ron sighed. "Snape's Head of Slytherin house. They say he always favors them – guess we'll see if that's true."

"I wonder..." Harry mused. "Think Lucy would favor us?"

At that precise moment, the owls flew in to deliver mail and Hedwig landed in front of Harry, dropping a small note on Harry's plate.

"Dear Harry." The boy read aloud. "You might not remember me, but I was the one who pulled you out of the wreck of your parents' house. Would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three? I want to hear all about your first week. Send an answer back with Hedwig. Signed, Hagrid."

"Yes, please, see you later." Harry muttered, scribbling it on the back of the note and sending Hedwig off with it.

Potions class took place down in one of the dungeons. It was colder here than in the main castle and the creepy feeling was only intensified by the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls.

Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking attendance, and he too paused at Harry's name.

"Ah, yes." He observed softly. "Harry Potter. Our new... celebrity."

Malfoy sniggered at that. Snape finished checking names and stood up.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making." He began. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will not consider this magic. I don't expect you to understand the beauty of a softly simmering cauldron with shimmering fumes... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even contain death – if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Snape looked around the silent classroom. "Potter!" He started suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry exchanged confused looks with Ron. Hermione's hand shot up and Wendy seemed to be struggling with herself.

"I don't know, sir."

"Fame clearly isn't everything." Snape sneered. "Let's try again. Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Hermione stretched her hand out as high as it could go. Wendy steeled herself and raised her own hand.

"I don't know, sir." Harry told Snape, trying to ignore Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle laughing.

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming here, eh, Potter?" Snape scoffed. "Tell me then, what the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane is."

Hermione stood up, still with her hand raised. Wendy, on the other hand, frowned and slowly lowered hers.

"I don't know." Harry muttered. "I think Hermione does, though, so why not ask her?"

Snape was not pleased with that answer. "Sit down." He snapped at Hermione. "Miss Marvell, I was reliably informed that it is your aspiration to heal people, and Potions is a vital subject for that career. Monkshood and wolfsbane are the same plant, also known as aconite. Perhaps you could answer the other two questions I asked."

"A bezoar is a stone that can neutralize most poisons, and can be found in the stomach of a goat." Wendy explained. "And asphodel and wormwood make a very powerful sleeping potion, the Draught of Living Death."

Hermione sent Wendy a smoldering glare.

"Correct. All of you, write that down." Snape commanded. "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor house for your cheek, Potter."

Things only got worse from there. Harry noticed that Snape seemed to not dislike Wendy and Meledy, since he simply studied their potion for a moment before moving on. He also favored Malfoy a lot, to the point of telling everyone about how well the blond boy had stewed his horned slugs. That was interrupted when Neville managed to melt his partner Seamus' cauldron and the badly brewed boil cure spread across the floor, causing most students to stand on chairs in order to avoid it. Neville, who had gotten drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as large boils began to form everywhere on his skin.

"Idiot boy!" Snape snarled, easily clearing the potion away. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"

The boy whimpered when the boils reached his face.

"Take him up to the hospital wing." Snape spat at Seamus.

"I got this, Professor." Meledy cut in, ushering Neville quickly out of the dungeon before Snape could say anything else.

The man nodded in acceptance and rounded on Harry and Ron, who had been working next to Neville.

"You, Potter – why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, didn't you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor."

Harry opened his mouth to argue about the unfairness of that, but Ron nudged him to stay quiet.

"Don't push it." The redhead whispered. "I've heard that Snape can turn very nasty."

"Miss Marvell." Snape turned to Wendy. "Your partner for this assignment has left and I doubt she will return to finish it. Will you be able to complete the potion on your own?"

Wendy nodded. The Slytherins gaped at their Head of House, unable to comprehend the fact that he treated a Gryffindor with respect.

As they climbed the stairs out of the dungeons an hour later, Harry's mind was racing and his spirits were low. He'd lost two points for Gryffindor in his very first week – why did Snape seem to hate him so much?

"Cheer up." Ron told him. "Snape's always taking points off Fred and George. Can I come see Hagrid with you after Strauss' class?"

Harry looked around with wide eyes as they entered Lisanna's classroom. The walls were covered in large photos of people with animal features, like wings, talons, tails etc. Some of them Harry recognized as people from Lucy's group. There were even some of Lisanna herself, most often with large wings.

The woman with short white hair waited until the students finished coming in and stood up.

"Welcome to Alternate Magic, a subject where you will learn magic unique to my homeland." Lisanna started. "Since there are many different types of magic back home, each year is taught by a different person with a different type of magic, so that you all can learn more than just one type of our magic."

"Look around." She commanded. "See the photos? This is what I'm going to be teaching you. The magic I use is officially called Take-Over: Animal Soul. For simplicity's sake, I could say it's a type of human transfiguration. Yes, what is it?"

Hermione lowered her hand. "Professor, in Transfiguration we were told that human transfiguration is a complicated branch of magic, and that we won't be learning it for several years. How come we're learning this, then?"

"I looked into the theory of English transfiguration magic." Lisanna answered her. "The way Professor McGonagall was talking about is complicated, requires intense focus, and takes at least several seconds to successfully complete. If your attention wavers during it, you can easily maim yourself."

"However, Take-Over is based on different principles." Lisanna continued. "The way it works is that you simply focus your magic in the limb or body part you want to change, and then you will it to become what you want it to be. No wand or any other magical focus is necessary. If you've done it right, magic will grant the desired effect with minimal focus on your part. Observe."

The students gaped in wonder as Lisanna's arms sprouted feathers and lengthened, becoming wings in the time span of about two seconds.

"Those are fully functional." Lisanna told them. "I could use those to fly for as long as I have the strength. However, that brings me to another point. Unlike with your magic, which after being cast is independent of your condition, this magic is reliant on your physical state. Should I exhaust myself by flying for several hours, those wings will automatically revert to being my normal arms." She finished by turning her arms back to normal.

"Of course, just turning your body parts into something else isn't everything." Lisanna added. "You have to realize that what you transform becomes a physical part of your body which you've never used before. The second part of this magic is more about exercise and learning how to proficiently use your new limbs or body parts."

"Complex changes involving a large amount of your bodies need one more thing. Your magic has to, for lack of a better term, assimilate the animal you wish to be able to transform into." Lisanna told them. "For small changes, such as claws or teeth, that is unnecessary since they are easy to do. For those types of changes, it's basically lengthening or thickening what you have, instead of completely changing it."

"I'll start you off with something really basic." Lisanna decided. "Each of you, try to find your magic, then push it into one of your fingers and imagine it turning into a claw. If you've done it right, a greenish-blue circle will light up around your finger before it transforms. Do not be alarmed by the glowing circle or the light around your finger during the changing process. That is normal."

"Ok then!" She clapped her hands and grinned at the fascinated students. "Begin!"

* * *

At five to three Harry, Ron, Wendy, and Meledy left the castle and made their way across the grounds. Among the group, Ron had surprisingly been the first to change his fingers into claws and he was still fascinated by the ability, changing them into his normal fingers and back.

Hagrid, as it turned out, lived in a small wooden house on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. A crossbow, a pair of galoshes, and for some reason discarded clothes were outside the front door. When Harry knocked, they heard frantic scrabbling coming from inside and several loud barks. Then Hagrid was heard shouting over the noise.

"Back, Fang – back!"

"Awesome!" A second voice shouted. "Visitors!"

"Dumbass." A third voice groaned. "It's that Potter kid, remember?"

Hagrid flung his door open and let them in.

There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire and a massive bed stood in the corner. The pink-haired boy with the blue flying cat was wrestling a large dog to the floor, trying to calm it down, and a boy with black hair and clad only in boxers was lounging in an armchair with a bored look, which explained the clothes in front of the hut. Both boys' faces lit up when they noticed Wendy and Meledy.

"Make yourselves at home." Hagrid told them, dragging pink-hair off his dog and letting it jump on Ron playfully. Meledy chuckled, before helping the boy out and calming Fang down by scratching behind his ears.

"This is Ron, Wendy, and Meledy." Harry told Hagrid.

"I know the two girls already." Hagrid eyed them for a moment, before turning to Ron. "And you're a Weasley, eh? I spent half me life chasing your twin brothers away from the forest." He glanced at Meledy. "Actually, they went there yesterday too, and I think you were with them."

Still playing with Fang, Meledy grinned. She also noticed that Natsu and Gray had left the hut, likely thinking that it had gotten crowded in there.

The rock cakes Hagrid offered them almost broke their teeth, but the group pretended to enjoy them as they told Hagrid about their first lessons. The man was fascinated by hearing that they were learning how to turn their body parts into animal ones. Harry and Ron, on the other hand, were delighted to hear Hagrid call Filch an old git.

After that, Harry told Hagrid about Snape's lesson. Like Ron, Hagrid told Harry not to worry about it because Snape liked hardly any students.

"But he seemed to really hate me." Harry protested.

"Rubbish." Hagrid snorted. "Why would he? He seemed to like yer friend Wendy, didn't he?"

Harry frowned, thinking that Hagrid had glanced away slightly while saying that.

"How's yer brother Charlie?" Hagrid asked Ron, changing the subject. "I liked him a lot, great with animals, that one was."

While Ron told Hagrid all about Charlie's work with dragons, something that Wendy was paying rapt attention to, Harry picked up a piece of paper from the table. It turned out to be an article from the Daily Prophet about a break-in at Gringotts, surprisingly enough on the same day that Harry and the girls were there.

"Freed had a job from Dumbledore that had to do with Gringotts." Meledy remembered, reading over Harry's shoulder. "Maybe he knows something. I'll try asking him later."

Harry nodded and read through the story again. It said that the vault that was broken into had been emptied earlier the same day. Was it possible that Freed's job was emptying that vault? Had whatever was inside of it been the thieves' target?

As the group walked back to the castle, their pockets full of rock cakes that they were too polite to refuse, Harry decided that none of his lessons so far made him think as much as that tea session. Was Freed involved in what had happened at Gringotts? What happened to what was inside the vault? And did Hagrid know something about Snape that he didn't want to tell Harry?

The boy decided to try and talk to Freed sometime soon.

* * *

AN: To clarify, the Tenrou group's arrival to Hogwarts meant creating two new subjects: Alternate Magic, which is mandatory for all years, and Runic Wards, which will be a third-year-and-above elective class.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next one will be out soon.

Thanks for reading!


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